


Missing Persons Case

by TheStonedSoldier



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, I know I always tag my fics as fluff and then it turns out to also have angst but I swear, I mean sure they have sad backstories but come on, I really have no tags for this it's just a ridiculous happy mermaid story idk, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, cheese and cliches ahoy, implied minor character death, mermaid au, mermaid!bucky - Freeform, this is completely angst free, what is fanfiction without a tragic backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:17:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStonedSoldier/pseuds/TheStonedSoldier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve has always been obsessed with mermaids. Even if the whole village may think he's crazy, they can't shake his firm belief that they're out there somewhere. So when people begin to go missing along the docks where he lives, he can't help but investigate..</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing Persons Case

There was a small crowd gathering by the docks, and the atmosphere of excitement and anticipation was driving Steve crazy. His feet ached from staying on his tiptoes for so long, stretching and craning his neck as he tried to see around the people in front of him. Even the briefest glimpse of water would be _something_ , but right now all he could see was legs. Why did grownups have to be so tall?

"Steven!"

Before he could react he found himself being yanked backward by his wrist, despite him doing his best to dig his heels into the ground. "Leggo of me." He protested, stumbling backwards through the crowd and looking over his shoulder at his mother as she hauled him away from the main group of people.

"Will you _stop_ running off?" She said desperately, turning him around and looking down at him sternly. "This is the third time."

"I wanna see papa's boat."

"Ain't gonna see much with all those people in front of you, are you?"

"'S why I was tryin'a get past 'em." He grumbled, folding his arms and scuffing his shoe across the ground. "Would'a got to the front if you hadn't pulled me out."

"Would'a been trampled, more like."

Steve huffed and hung his head dejectedly, pouting grumpily when she crouched down in front of him.

"You know where you can get a better view?" She whispered as she hooked her hands under his arms.

"Whe- hey!" He yelped, giggling and wrapping his arms around her neck as she scooped him up in her arms. He could see over the crowd now and he sighed, chewing on his shirt sleeve as he looked out across the dock. The water was calm and still, with only one or two boats floating along the surface, but no sign of his father's fishing boat yet.

“Mama?” Steve said after a while, looking up at her with wide eyes. “D’ya think papa saw the mermaids again?”

His mother sighed, leaning her head against his and shaking her head. “I’m sure he’ll have all sorts of stories for you.”

“When I’m big I’m gonna find ‘em.”

“Nobody’s found one yet.”

“Papa has!” Steve yelled insistently. “Says he hears them singing when he’s fishing.”

“Thought you said they only sing to catch the fishermen?”

“They do.”

“Then why haven’t they caught your father?”

Steve paused, chewing on his sleeve thoughtfully and shrugging. “He must be smarter than them.”

She sighed and looked back out at the water, frowning and squeezing Steve’s arm. “He should be back by now.”

“Maybe he got lost.” Steve suggested, craning his neck to try and look further over the horizon. “Or maybe he’s with the mermaids.”

“That’s not funny, Steve.” His mother said sternly as she stared ahead.

“But what if they took him?”

“Steve-“

“Or turned him into a mermaid!”

“ _Steven_.” She snapped, turning back towards him angrily. “Will you stop with this... oh no.”

“What?”

He kicked his legs out in protest as she set him back down on the ground, reaching up to grab her arm.

“Wait here, Stevie.” She said slowly, stroking his hair before turning to push her way through the crowd and leaving him on his own.

For a few moments he waited, rocking on his heels and chewing on his sleeve while people bustled around him. It wasn’t until he started hearing gasping and yelling from the docks that his patience ran out, and he started pushing through the crowd, weaving his way between the people until he made it to the edge of the dock.  
There was a boat moored at the water’s edge. It was much smaller than his father’s boat, but he recognised the group of men staggering to shore. He spotted Sam’s father among them and ran over, grabbing on to his leg and yelling up at him.

“Mister Wilson! Mister Wilson!”

“Steve?” He said wearily, lifting him up and looking around the dock. “Where’s your mother?”

“I’m here.” A stern voice said behind them and Steve yelped as she pulled him into her arms. “I told you to wait by the road.”

“But I could hear the yelling.” Steve protested. “Where’s papa?”

“I’m so sorry.”

They both turned back to Mr Wilson, who was stood with his head hung. “The ship went down. A few of us made it onto the lifeboat, but we never found him.”

Steve felt his mother bury her face in his hair and he stared out at the water, clinging on to her dress tightly. “The mermaids got him, mama.”

“Steve will you stop?”

“Papa said they can sink the boats.”

“Enough!”

Sighing, he tucked his legs up and pressed his face into her shoulder, trying to ignore the sound of his mother sniffling. “I’ll find ‘em, mama.” He whispered. “When I’m big I’m gonna find ‘em.”

∞

Steve sat upright in bed, panting heavily and clinging tightly to the thin blankets. It was the third time this month he’d had the same dream. Well, not so much a dream as a memory. Sighing, he leant back and ran his fingers through the mop of hair on his head. There was a slither of sunlight peeking through the shutters on his window and illuminating the usually dark, damp room.  
The bed creaked as he stood up and he paced across the room, pulling the shutters up so he could look out at the sea. There had been a storm last night, he could remember the wind whistling through the cracks in the house and the rain beating against the window. But now everything was still. Even the fishing boats in the distance barely seemed to move, floating lifelessly on the surface of the water. Tearing himself away from the window, he pulled his old tattered blue shirt off the hook on the door and pulled it over the t-shirt he was wearing. The shirt used to belong to his father, and he had to roll the sleeves up three times to keep them from covering his hands. His ma had always said he’d grow into it, but he was almost 23 now and didn’t seem to have done much growing since he was 14.

His mother was already sat at the table when he came out of his room, looking up at him as he rifled through the cabinet for a glass.

“You’re up early.” She observed, looking back down at her newspaper.

“Bad dream.”

“Again?”

Steve shrugged, pouring the last drops of orange juice into his glass and sitting opposite her. “We need more juice.” He mumbled as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

“We need more of everything.”  

Nodding, he drummed his fingers against the table for a few seconds before sitting up decisively. “I’ll go down to the market. I can pick up some bread and stuff.”

“You’ll be lucky.” She said, tossing the paper across the table and pointing at the headline.

_Local Baker Disappears_

Steve frowned and snatched the paper up, slumping back in his seat. “Bruce?”

“Mmhmm. Hasn’t been seen in three days.” She sighed. “Poor Betty’s been worried sick.”

“You talked to her?”

“Yesterday.”

“What’d she say?”

She shrugged and looked down at her hands. “Nothing much. Last she knew he was going down to the docks to fish, but he never came back.”

“He went to the docks?”

“Don’t start.”

“Ma, three people _this month_ have gone missing by the docks and you think it’s a coincidence?”

“I think it’s unfortunate.” She said flatly, pursing her lips. “And I think you need to stop trying to get involved.”

“I’m not trying to get involved I’m just saying there’s-“

“Don’t.”

“There’s sirens out there.”

“ _Steven_.” She snapped, slamming her hand down on the table. “A man has gone missing. Can you _try_ to be serious about it?”

Steve bit his tongue and stood up angrily, stalking over to the door and pulling his shoes on. “I’ll go get some food.”

“Stay away from Betty.”

“I was going to.”

“Good. If I hear you’ve been talking to her I won’t let you out of the house.”

“Ma I’m an adult, you can’t lock me in the house.”

“Try me.”

Rolling his eyes, he pushed the door open and stepped outside. The air was cool and he could smell the salt from the sea as he made his way along the docks and up the steep path to the town. It was obvious everyone else had read the news about Bruce. The usually bustling street was quiet, and there was a tense atmosphere hanging over everyone. He spotted Sam setting up his stall on the corner and headed over to him, leaning against the table and watching him unpack a crate of fish.

“Hey, man.” Sam said cheerfully when he spotted him, standing upright and wiping his hands on his shirt. “Don’t usually see you out here this early.”

“Yeah... I had to get out of the house for a while.” Steve sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. “You hear about Bruce?”

“’Course I heard, ‘s all everyone’s been talking about.”

Steve nodded slowly and looked around, checking nobody else was listening before leaning over the table. “Ma says Betty last saw him going down to the docks.”

“Steve, you’re my friend, but sometimes I worry about you.”

“I’m serious.”

“So am I.” Sam said flatly, folding his arms. “You keep trying to get involved in this stuff, sooner or later it’s gonna get you in trouble.”

“You sound like my mother.” He muttered. “Don’t you wanna know what’s going on around here?”

Sam stared at him for a moment before sighing and leaning forward. “This is the third person this month. Same place, same time. Can’t be a coincidence.”  He whispered. “Folks around here are starting to talk. Keep hearing mentions of a serial killer.”

“It’s not a serial killer.” Steve mumbled. “You know it’s not a serial killer.”

“I don’t _know_ anything.”

“Your dad said anything about it?”

“My dad is one outburst away from being locked in an asylum. He’s not getting involved in this.”  

Steve sighed, scuffing his shoe against the ground and mumbling quietly, “I need you to go talk to Betty.”

“What?”

“She might know something.”

“So _you_ go talk to her!” Sam protested, dumping a crate of fish onto the table aggressively.

“I have to go check out the docks.”

“I have a stand to run.”

“You can go this afternoon.”

Sam narrowed his eyes at him and sighed. “Fine. But this is the last time I let myself get caught up in your shit. Now you gonna carry on spewing conspiracies or actually buy something?”

Smirking, Steve dug into his pocket and dropped a few loose coins onto the table. “What can I get for that?”

“You kill me, you know that? You are singlehandedly destroying my business.”

“I know it’s just.. It’s been a rough couple of weeks.”

“Yeah you’re telling me.” Sam mumbled, grabbing a couple of the larger fish and wrapping them up. “Just take this, you can pay me back later.”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Sam.”

“Die, probably.”

Steve snorted and spun on his heel, heading back in the direction he’d come. After dropping the fish off at home and grabbing his sketchbook to avoid his mother’s questioning, he walked down the path to the docks.  
The water was calm and Steve could hear it lapping softly beneath him as he walked along the jetty. Stopping when he got to the very edge, he dropped his bag and sat down, kicking his legs out and staring down at his reflection. Everything was quiet. He hated the quiet. He was used to the docks bustling with activity, the sounds of boats knocking gently against the jetty and fishermen rushing back and forth. Quiet meant all the boats were out at sea, which always filled him with a faint sense of dread. Closing his eyes, he leant back on his hands and started humming to himself to fill the silence. When he was younger his mother would sing to him whenever there was a storm, and even now singing those old sea songs to himself always helped to calm him down.  
For a while he let himself drift into a daze, feeling the breeze blow through his hair and listening to the sound of the gulls squabbling by the shoreline. The water was lapping against the edge of the dock and Steve focused his attention on the sound, listening to the ripples moving back and forth.. back and forth.. back and forth.. back and-  
A sudden splashing noise pulled him out of his daze and he sat upright, glancing around, searching for the source of the noise. The whole place was still just and deserted as when he arrived, save for a few birds perched along the dock.

“Probably the wind.” He mumbled to himself, slumping back down and scratching the back of his neck. He was about to stand up when a flash of silver streaked across the water a few feet away from him, glinting in the sun and grabbing his attention. Throwing himself forward, he scrambled across the jetty and peered over the edge, scanning the water. The ripples made it hard to see clearly, and no matter how hard he squinted he couldn’t make anything out. Huffing in frustration, he leant further out, his arms shaking as he struggled to keep his balance.

“Steve.”

The noise startled him and he toppled forward, yelping when a hand grabbed his shirt before he could fall into the water.

“The hell are you doing?” The familiar voice asked and Steve sighed, looking up at Peggy standing over him with her hands on her hips. “Why is it every time I find you you’re seconds away from certain death?”

Steve folded his arms defensively and shuffled away from the edge of the jetty, ignoring Peggy’s laughter as she sat down next to him.

“What’re you doing here?” He mumbled, looking over at her.

“Same as you.” She shrugged. “Looking for Bruce.”

“Well he’s not here.”

“Yes, I can see that.” She smirked, leaning back on her hands and staring out at the ocean. “Suppose the mermaids just carried him off to sea.”

“That’s not funny, Pegs.” Steve muttered and she chuckled, nudging his arm.

“C’mon. You really haven’t found anything?”

Sighing, Steve scratched his neck and shook his head. “No but.. I only just got here, so-”

“So let’s go!”

Peggy hopped to her feet enthusiastically, grabbing his hand and pulling him up with her. Now that they were upright Steve barely came up to her shoulder, and he had to practically jog to keep up with her as she marched back down the jetty.  
She’d always been a giant, even when they were younger. Some of the other kids used to joke that she was his muscle. Although Steve always insisted she wasn’t _his_ muscle, she just always seemed to be using her muscle to beat up anyone he managed to get in a fight with, which seemed to happen far too often. She never seemed to mind though. In fact, he was pretty sure part of her enjoyed it. Even if she never admitted to it, she couldn’t always mask the smug grin on her face any time she managed to knock out a guy half a foot taller than her.

“What were you looking at?” She asked as they strolled along the edge of the dock.

“Huh?”

“On the jetty just now, looked like you were looking for something.”

“Oh. It was nothing I just.. thought I saw something in the water. But it was nothing.” Steve shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets and looking down at his feet.

“What did you think you saw?”

“It doesn’t matter, it was nothing.”

“So what if- what’s that?” Peggy said suddenly, grabbing his shoulder and stopping him in his tracks. “There’s something on the shore.”

Before Steve could say anything Peggy was grabbing his hand and dragging him down the steps to the wet sand below. They continue walking until Peggy stopped again, reaching down to dig something out of the sand.

“Bruce’s watch.” She said quietly, dropping it into Steve’s hand.

“How do you know it’s his?”

“Steve, it has his name on the back.”

“Oh.”

Peggy chuckled and he blushed, turning the watch over and running his thumb over the engraving on the back. “Why would this be down here?”

“Not a clue.” Peggy shrugged, kicking at the sand and resting her hands on her hips. “There’s more stuff down here too, come on.”

The two of them got onto their hands and knees, crawling and digging through the sand, collecting up all the scattered objects. A set of keys, a wallet, a damp photograph, all seemingly belonging to Bruce.

“This makes no sense.” Peggy said, stuffing the photograph into her pocket and huffing in frustration. “All his things are here, but there’s no body.”

They’d been sat by the edge of the shore for hours now, cleaning off everything they’d found and trying to figure out what had happened. The sun was low in the sky and Steve sighed, staring out at the ocean. “It does make sense. Everyone’s just too stubborn to admit it.”

“Steve, you can’t just expect people to suddenly start believing in a myth without any proof.”

“What more proof do you need? Someone’s vanished and we just found all his stuff on the seabed.”

“There are a million logical explanations for that.” Peggy said flatly, looking down at her hands.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“Stop it.” She muttered, getting to her feet and brushing the sand off her clothes. “I should get going, my parents will be looking for me.”

Steve nodded and stood up, cramming Bruce’s things into his shirt pockets and following her back along the dock. There was a chill in the air now that the light was fading, and Steve was thankful when they reached his house. Wrapping her arms around him, Peggy pulled him into a tight bear hug, nuzzling the top of his head.

“We’ll keep looking tomorrow, ‘kay?” She said as she squeezed him tightly, almost choking the life out of him.

“S.. Sure.” He choked, patting her arm until she loosened her grip.

“We’re gonna figure this out.” She insisted. “Just make sure you stay inside tonight.”

“I can take care of myself, Pegs.”

“I know. But stay inside.”

Steve rolled his eyes and she smirked, squeezing his shoulder before turning and heading further up the path. He watched her disappear into the distance before pushing the door open and trudging inside.  
His mother was sat in the corner of the room with her nose buried in a book, not looking up as he shut the door and paced across the room.

“You’re back late.” She murmured. “You missed supper.”

“’M not hungry.”

He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head and he sighed, turning to face her. “I already ate.”

“You’re a terrible liar.” She said sternly, pursing her lips and setting her book down on the table. “Where were you?”

“The docks.. with Peggy.”

“Getting into trouble, no doubt.”

Chuckling, Steve nodded and scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah. She kinda.. stopped me from falling into the sea.”

“Steve, honestly.” She sighed and Steve smirked, shrugging his shoulders.

“Sometimes I swear that girl is the only reason you’re alive. Lord knows what would happen to you without her.”

Steve nodded solemnly and rocked back on his heels. “I’m gonna head to bed.” He mumbled, yawning and pushing open the door to his bedroom before she could say anything.

Locking the door as quietly as he could, he walked across the room and emptied the contents of his pockets out onto the windowsill. He lined the objects up neatly and stared down at them in frustration, arranging and rearranging them restlessly. Outside he could hear the wind starting to pick up again and he shivered, drawing the shutters closed before pacing back across the room and curling up on the bed.  
The sound of the wind blowing across the surface of the water outside was almost melodic, and Steve lay awake for a while listening to it. Maybe it was the fact that he was half asleep already, or just that there were too many conflicting noises outside, but in the distance he swore he could hear singing.

∞

He woke up to the sound of gulls screeching outside his window. The obnoxious noise made his ears ring and pulled him abruptly into consciousness. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, trying to block out the noise from outside.  
After a few minutes of regretting opening his eyes, he finally got out of bed, dragging his feet across the floor to the window. There was a small flock of gulls hopping around a few metres away, all screeching and turning to look at him as he flung the window open.

“Unless you wanna be breakfast, I suggest you shut the hell up.” He muttered, narrowing his eyes when one flapped its wings at him.

“Steve, honey, are you talking to the seagulls again?” His mother asked, poking her head around the door and cocking her eyebrow at him.

“No.” He mumbled as he slammed the window shut again, spooking the birds outside and sending them flying.

She smirked at him, shaking her head and disappearing back through the door. Dragging his hand down his face, Steve turned and paced across the room, searching for a clean shirt to change into.

“’M going to see Sam.” He said hurriedly as he left his bedroom, grabbing his dad’s shirt and tugging it on. He was about to open the door when his mother grabbed his arm and pulled him backwards, tugging him onto a chair and shoving a chunk of bread into his hand.

“You’re not going anywhere until you eat something.”

Steve sighed, glancing up at her and nibbling on the bread obediently while she glared at him. Once he’d finished the bread, and the two strips of fish she’d proceeded to force into his hand, she finally let him leave the house, although not before loading his bag up with sandwiches and cakes.

Sam’s house was a short walk from the town, perched uphill on a patch of wispy grass. He could see Sam’s father, Paul, sitting out on the porch on his rocking chair, staring out at the sea with a blank expression on his face. Ever since the ship wreck that had killed his own father, Paul rarely left the house, and Sam was usually the only person he spoke to. Still, it didn’t stop Steve from saying a cheerful “good morning” to him as he knocked on the front door.

“Sam.” Steve said as soon as the door opened. “I need to talk to you.”

“You wanna show a little _more_ enthusiasm?” Sam asked, smirking and holding the door open as Steve walked inside. He followed him to the kitchen, sitting at the table and twiddling his thumbs impatiently while Sam made tea.

“Okay.” Sam said eventually, setting a cup in front of him and sitting at the other side of the table. “I went and talked to Betty last night. Didn’t expect to find anything.”

“But..?”

“ _But_ , it turns out he didn’t go to the docks to fish. I mean.. he did go down there earlier in the day, but he came back, ate supper and went to bed like normal.”

“So then what happened?”

“Look I don’t want you to read into all this too much okay? The woman’s distraught, she might be confused.”

“Sam what did she say?”

Sam sighed and leant against his hand. “Middle of the night she wakes up, sees him walking to the door. She said he was in some kind of.. trance? When she asked where he was going he just told her to go back to bed and wait for him, but he never came back.”

 “Oh my god.” Steve said quietly, leaning back in his chair and staring at the ceiling. “They’re really here. There are sirens here.”

“Steve you can’t just-”

“ _Sirens_.”

The voice behind him startled them both, and when Steve turned around he saw Sam’s father staring down at him with wide eyes.

“The sirens are here?” He croaked, staggering towards the empty seat and sitting down.

“Dad it’s nothing.” Sam said insistently as he pushed his cup across the table towards him. “Drink some tea.”

“I don’t want your damn tea, Sammy.” He muttered, jabbing his finger into Steve’s arm and staring intently at him. “You. You said there are sirens here?”

“Uh..” Steve stammered. He was pretty sure this was the longest conversation he’d had with Sam’s dad since the shipwreck, and now that he _was_ talking to him he had no idea what to say. Despite Sam staring daggers at him from across the table, he turned back to Paul and tried to string together a sentence. “We.. there are people going missing at the docks, and we think it might be sirens.”

“ _You_ think it might be sirens.” Sam grumbled under his breath.

“What the hell else could it be? You said Bruce left the house in a trance, and Peggy and I found some of his things washed up on the shore. Do you think the man just drowned himself after stopping to empty his pockets?”

Sam sighed deeply and leant back in his chair, holding his hands up in defeat. “Fine. I’ll admit it’s pretty weird.”

“You shouldn’t be meddling.” Paul whispered, grabbing Steve’s hand tightly. “This isn’t some fairy tale, boy. You don’t know what they can do. I’ve seen them, all tooth and claw and blood. I’ve seen them tear grown men apart.”

Steve swallowed and scratched the back of his neck, trying not to think about the possibility of his father being one of those grown men.

“I.. I should probably go.” He said hurriedly, getting to his feet and heading to the door.

“Steve.” Sam called behind him, grabbing his shoulder before he could open the door. “Look, you know my dad. He’s been shaken up ever since the ship wreck. His head’s not in the right place anymore.”

“I know.” He sighed. “Sorry. I encouraged him.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Sam said as he squeezed his shoulder. “He’s right though. You gotta stop digging into this. Whoever.. whatever’s doing this, sooner or later they’ll come for you.”

Steve nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at his feet. “At least nobody’s been reported missing today. Maybe they’ve moved on.” He shrugged as he scuffed his boot against the floor. “I should go.”

“Yeah. Take it easy, Stevie.”

Sam patted him on the back and held the door open for him as he left, waving cheerfully before closing the door behind him. He kept his eyes on the sea as he walked back down the coastal path, watching the way the sunlight streaked across the water. For a while everything felt peaceful, the sun warmed his skin and the sound of the waves helped him to relax, that was, until he got back to his house and saw his mother standing outside waiting for him.

“What are you doing out here?” He asked as soon as he reached her, frowning when she took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

“Peggy’s parents stopped by. She never came home last night and they thought.. you might know where she is.”

Steve stared at her for a few seconds, trying to process what she was saying. “What.. no. I saw her walking home.” He stammered. Peggy’s house was only a short walk away, there was no way anything could have happened to her in that time, she would have been in the middle of the town. Unless.. she didn’t go home after all. He turned to look out at the ocean and a sudden sense of dread washed over him. “I have to go.” He said quietly, pushing her away from him.

“Steve, come inside.”

“No. I just.. I need be on my own.” He said as he walked off, ignoring her protests.

There were clouds gathering in the distance, but for now the water was calm and the sun was still shining down on the docks. He walked slowly out onto the jetty, sitting at the end and looking down at the water. There was a crumpled piece of paper floating in the water a few feet away, and for a while Steve watched it bobbing and swaying before finally his curiosity got the better of him. Reaching out, he fished it out of the water and his heart sank immediately. It was Bruce’s photograph. Peggy had kept it with her when they’d gone home last night. She must have come back to the dock after he’d gone inside, and he’d heard the singing..  
Steve buried his face in his hands and let out a choked sob, squeezing his eyes shut as Paul’s words filled his head again.

_I’ve seen them, all tooth and claw and blood. I’ve seen them tear grown men apart._

Keeping his eyes closed, he started humming one of his mother’s nursery rhymes. The tune was broken up by the intermittent sobs that managed to escape, but he carried on regardless, trying to focus on the sound instead of letting his mind wander.

“Are you okay?”

Steve’s eyes snapped open and he almost fell backwards when he saw a man staring at him from the water. He could only see the man’s head and the tops of his shoulders, but he was.. _beautiful._ His dark hair was pushed back out of his face, and his eyes shone like the ocean. He looked taken aback when he realised Steve had noticed him, his eyes darting about as if trying to decide whether to leave or not. After a few seconds of painful silence, he swam a little closer, cocking his head and looking up at him.

“Uh.. hi.” He said slowly, swimming up to the jetty and resting his arms on the edge.

“H.. hi.” Steve sniffled. He wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve and sat upright, looking down at the man in front of him. Up close he looked even more striking. The water droplets clinging to his skin caught the light when he moved, making him sparkle in the sun. But his _eyes_. Steve couldn’t look away from them. They were swirling pools of blues, greys, and greens, dancing and shifting as he blinked.

“I like your singing.” The man said, breaking the silence. “I come here a lot to listen to you.”

Steve felt his face heat up and he looked down at his hands, picking at one of his shirt buttons awkwardly. “I’ve never seen you before.”

“I don’t usually come out of the water.”

“Oh.” He mumbled, not entirely sure what he meant by that. “You shouldn’t be in there you know. It’s dangerous.”

The man’s eyes widened and he glanced around, leaning in closer. “Are there sharks? I really hate sharks.”

“No, there’s no sharks.” Steve reassured him, chuckling when he visibly relaxed again. “Besides, sharks aren’t as dangerous as everyone thinks they are.”

“Yeah? You ever been _bitten_ by a shark?”

“I.. no.” He admitted. “Have you?”

The other man nodded, lifting his arm up to show a faint pink scar along his bicep. “Got into a food fight with one when I was 14.”

“You got into a food fight.. with a shark?”

“It sounds stupid when you say it.” He laughed, resting his chin on his arms and smiling up at him. “You’re cute. I don’t know why they tell us not to talk to you.”

“You’re not supposed to talk to _me_?”

“Not you specifically.” He sniggered. “Humans in general.”

Steve stared at him blankly and the man shrugged, smirking up at him. “You don’t seem so bad though.”

“Uh.. thanks, I think.”

“So, why is it dangerous here?” The man asked, tilting his head curiously.

“Oh, um... it doesn’t matter. You’ll just think I’m crazy.”

The man cocked his eyebrow in a silent challenge and Steve sighed, leaning forward and lowering his voice. “There are sirens here.”

“Yeah?” He smirked, chewing on his lip.

“Yeah. Nobody will listen to me, but I know they’re here. I just wish I could find some proof.”

“Well.. I might be able to help with that.”

“Really? You’ve seen them?”

The man laughed and shook his head. “You could say that.” He smirked, swimming backwards and disappearing under the water.

The water rippled and suddenly a long, iridescent tail emerged, glinting in the sun before splashing back down and disappearing. Steve stared in disbelief as the siren reappeared from under the water, pushing his hair out of his face and smirking up at him.

“That proof enough for you?” He asked as he swam back to the edge of the jetty, flicking his tail out of the water teasingly.

“You’re real.” Steve breathed, scrambling to the edge of the jetty and watched the siren’s tail moving back and forth under the water. The colours seemed to shift as he moved, turning from a deep turquoise, to blue, to gleaming silver in the light. “You’re really real.”

“Yeah, last time I checked.”  

For a while Steve sat silently, trying to process everything. Suddenly his heart dropped, and he scrambled backwards as he realised what he was looking at. “You.. you _killed her_.” He cried, staring in horror at the siren, whose brow furrowed in confusion.

“Killed who?” 

“Peggy! She went missing last night and I found the photograph in the water and.. it was you. I’ll.. I’ll kill you!” He yelled, jumping to his feet and clenching digging into his pocket for his father’s hunting knife.

The siren backed away from the jetty, floating a few feet away and holding his hands up defensively. “I haven’t taken anyone here.” He insisted, his eyes wide as he watched him. “Even if I had.. I don’t take girls.”

Steve narrowed his eyes, tightening his grip on the knife handle. “If you didn’t kill her, who did?”

“There are others! I can smell them. There.. there are others here, I swear. I didn’t hurt your friend.”

Slowly, Steve loosened his grip on the knife, folding his arms and letting out a deep breath. “You better get the hell out of here.” He muttered. “If I see you here again, you’re dead.”

Nodding frantically, the siren dived back under the water without another word, the fins of his tail flicking up before he disappeared completely. Sighing, Steve sat back down and grabbed his bag, pulling out his sketchbook, he crossed his legs and started sketching silvery scales onto the paper.

He must have lost track of time, because when he finally looked up from his sketchbook the sun was low in the sky, glowing orange on the horizon. He could hear footsteps coming up behind him and flinched when a blanket was draped over him.

“It’s getting late, my love.” His mother said softly, sitting down next to him and wrapping her arm around his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“No.” He mumbled as he leant against her arm. “It’s my fault.”

“It is _not_ your fault, Steve.” She insisted, squeezing his shoulder. “There’s nothing you could have done.”

“I should have gone with her. Made sure she got back safe.”

“You wouldn’t usually do that.”

“But I knew it was dangerous. I _knew_ people were going missing and I just-”

“Steve.” She said sternly, tilting his chin up to look at her. “This isn’t your fault. Sometimes these things just happen, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

Sighing, he looked out at the ocean and watched the light dancing across the waves. He couldn’t help but wonder where the siren had gone, and how many more were lurking under the surface of the water, patiently waiting for the sun to disappear.

“What are you drawing?” She asked and he looked down at his sketchbook, the page covered in drawings of the siren.

“Nothing. Just.. someone I saw swimming earlier.”

She smiled fondly and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. “You’re so imaginative.”

For a moment Steve considered telling her about the siren, but he pushed that thought away as quickly as it had come. He’d take imaginative over crazy any day.

“Come on. It’s getting dark.” She said, nudging his arm as she stood up. “It’s not safe out here at night anymore.”

Nodding, he got to his feet and followed her back to the house, looking out at the ocean one last time before heading inside.

∞

It was still dark when he woke up, and it took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust. The whole room was deathly silent. The wind seemed to have stopped completely, and everything felt.. still.  
Then he heard it. The singing. It started as a low hum in the distance, but as he listened it grew louder, until the whole room seemed to echo with the haunting song. He could tell it was a male voice, and immediately he pictured the siren from earlier. He was still here. He was still _hunting_. Jumping out of bed, he pulled on his shirt and boots with lightning speed. The voice in his ears made it hard to think straight, but he was still competent enough to grab his father’s pistol from the cabinet in the kitchen before he left.  
He marched purposefully down the path towards the source of the singing. It seemed to be coming from the very end of the dock, where the stone pathway dipped and turned to sand, and the rocky cliffs rose up into the distance. As he got closer his pace slowed and his legs started to develop a mind of their own, leading him down onto the sand towards the shore.

“Hey, sailor.” A soft voice cooed from the shadows, beckoning him closer to the rocks at the base of the cliff.

Steve could see the silhouette of the siren, resting his elbows on one of the rocks with his head tilted playfully. This wasn’t the same one he’d seen earlier. His hair was darker and his eyes looked black as coal, glinting in the moonlight.

“I know what you are.” Steve whispered, taking a cautious step towards him and tightening his grip on the pistol.

“I know you do.” The siren smirked, lifting his jet black tail out of the water and splashing it back down. “Come closer, I wanna look at you.”

Despite his brain screaming at him to stay where he was, he walked closer, stopping just a few feet away from the rock he was resting on.

“That’s a nice gun you’ve got there.” The siren observed. “Where’s a kid like you get a gun like that?”

“It’s my father’s.” He said flatly. Why did he say that? He could see the siren smiling a big, toothy grin at him and.. _oh god_.

Steve stared at the rows of razor sharp fangs in the siren’s mouth, watching as he ran his tongue along the front of them. The reality of what he’d just walked into began to set in and he swallowed hard, looking around for some kind of distraction.

“Put the gun down.” The siren said calmly, and he did, letting it fall onto the sand by his feet. “Good. Now come over here.”

His feet started moving on their own, leading him forward until his toes were touching the rock. The siren leant forward and grabbed his chin, tilting his head up and grinning at him. “Look at that face. Only a monster would want to hurt such a pretty face.” He sighed, dragging a sharp nail down his cheek. “Too bad for you, I am one.”

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and tried to brace himself for the pain, but it never came. Instead he felt the siren’s hands pull away from his face, and heard a high pitched shriek followed by frantic splashing. When he opened his eyes again he could see the siren writhing and splashing in the water, and when he squinted into the darkness he noticed a second tail just under the surface, and the hands clawing frantically at the other siren’s back. He watched the two bodies thrashing in the water, shrieking and crying as they tore at each other’s skin.  
In a panic, he grabbed the pistol at his feet and fired a shot into the water, flinching at the pained cry that echoed through the air. He wasn’t sure which siren he hit, but when he looked up he could see the jet black tail slipping under the water swimming away into the shadows. The other siren was nowhere in sight, and for a second Steve thought he might have killed it, until he saw a shaky hand grab onto one of the rocks, and watched the siren drag himself up onto the shore. He flopped weakly onto his back, and Steve realised it was the same siren he’d seen earlier in the day.

“You’re bleeding.” Steve whispered, looking down at the wound on his tail. “I.. I wasn’t trying to hit you.”

The siren looked up at him with wide, scared eyes, watching him as he walked over. “I’m sorry. I know you wanted me to leave but I could hear him. I didn’t want him to hurt anyone else.”

Steve didn’t say anything, kneeling down in the wet sand and reaching out to examine his tail. The siren flinched when he touched it and he pulled his hand back, looking up at him apologetically. “Sorry. That looks really bad.”

“It’s fine. You just grazed me.”  

“Still. This needs to be patched up.” He said, picking himself up and brushing the sand off his clothes. “Ma’s a nurse, she’ll know what to do. Wait here.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” The siren mumbled, looking down at his tail. “So far all of the humans I’ve met have shot me.”

“She won’t shoot you.” Steve insisted as he started making his way back along the sand. “Wait there.”

He practically sprinted back along the dock to his house, throwing the door open and slamming straight into his mother.

“Steve! Where the hell were you!?” She cried, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his hair. “I thought you were gone. Don’t you ever do that again.”

“Ma, we have to go. Where’s the first aid kit?” Steve said frantically, pushing her away and running over to the kitchen cabinet.

“What’s going on?”

“Get your coat.”

“ _Steve_.” She said, grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around. “What’s wrong?”

Taking a deep breath, he tried to figure out where to start. “Well.. see.. there was this siren and-”

“Oh for god’s sake, Steve.”

“No! You have to believe me, he’s hurt. I need your help.” He pleaded, looking up at her desperately. “Please?”

Sighing, she dragged her hand down her face and nodded. “Fine, I’ll come with you. But after tonight you’re not leaving this house for at least a month.”

Steve chose not to argue with her for now, grabbing the first aid kit from the cabinet and leading her back out along the docks.

“Honestly, Steve.” His mother said as he led her down onto the sand. “This is the most ridiculous- oh my god.”

She froze next to him when she saw the siren lying on the sand, gripping tightly onto his wrist. “Steve we have to go.”

“But he’s hurt.”

“Cry me a river. That _thing_ has killed people.” She said coldly, trying to pull him back.

“Ma, if it wasn’t for him I’d be dead. There was another one. It almost pulled me in, until _he,_ ” He said, pointing his finger at the siren, “Saved me. I can’t just leave him.”

Steve wrenched his arm free of her grip and sat back down next to the siren. The sand was stained red where his tail lay, and his eyes were distant when he looked up at him.

“You came back?” He asked weakly, shifting on the sand and whimpering when his tail moved.

“Yeah, told you I would.” Steve whispered, fighting the urge to reach out and stroke his hair. “Are you okay?”

“Hurts.”

“Where’s the cut?” His mother asked, catching them both by surprise. She knelt down by his tail and ran her hand along the scales, ignoring the yelp of protest from the siren. “Well the good news is this should be fine with some stitches.”

“What’s the bad news?” Steve asked as she dug through the first aid kit.

“I’ve never stitched up a fish before.”

“I’m not a fish.” The siren grumbled, flopping his head onto Steve’s lap and looking up at him. “Is it gonna hurt?”

“A little.” Steve admitted. “But it’ll feel better.”

He was used to distracting his mother’s patients whenever she had to give them stitches or injections, although usually those patients were 12 year old children, not fully grown mermaids.

“I don’t know your name.” He said when he saw she was about to start the stitches, drawing the siren’s attention back to him.

“Bucky.”

“Bucky.” He repeated. “I’m Steve.”

Bucky opened his mouth to speak, when suddenly he yelped, sitting upright and hissing at his mother with fangs bared.

“Steve I swear to god if you can’t control that thing-”

“It’s fine.” Steve said, grabbing Bucky’s shoulders and pulling him back down. “You gotta stay still.”

“It hurts!”

“Yeah, and it’ll hurt more if you move. Don’t be a baby.”

“I’m not.. fine.” Bucky huffed, nestling his head in Steve’s lap and sticking his bottom lip out indignantly.

He managed to stay relatively still while his mother finished the stitches, and Steve discovered that he seemed to enjoy having his hair petted, making soft purring noises whenever he dragged his fingers through the damp locks at the back of his head. It was hard to imagine him as a fierce predator. The siren that had almost killed him, _that_ was what Steve had expected sirens to be, but Bucky was different.

“Steve.” He said quietly after a while, looking up when Steve stopped stroking his hair. “That siren.. if he’s the one that took your friend-”

“Don’t.” Steve sighed. “There’s nothing anyone could have done.”

“She could still be alive.”

Steve’s heart stopped. “She.. you.. what?”

“His name’s Brock. He’s not like most of us. He doesn’t just kill for food he.. it’s like a game to him. Every few months he’ll go to the nearest town, collect a few people, and leaves them in the caves. Then he hunts them. I saw the way he was luring you.. he made it too easy.”

“So.. you think he kept her alive?”

Bucky nodded, pointing over at the cliff. “There’s a whole cave system on the other side. She’s probably there.”

“I have to go get her.”

“ _You_ are going nowhere.” His mother said sternly, finishing the last stitch on Bucky’s tail and looking up at him. “It’s too dangerous.”

“I can’t just leave her.” Steve protested. “That siren’s gonna kill her.”

“I could come with you?”

They both looked down at Bucky, who shrugged and avoided their eyes. “I know his scent, so I could help you avoid him. I’d be able to find your friend.”

Steve looked up at his mother who immediately shook her head. “No. Absolutely not.”

“But I trust him.” Steve argued, smirking when Bucky flicked his tail proudly. “I have a boat we.. _I_ can use.”

“Boats are slow.” Bucky mumbled. “But with arms that skinny I s’pose you won’t swim much faster.”

“My arms aren’t that skinny.”

Bucky snorted and looked him up and down. “You’re an appetiser at best.”

“Steve I don’t feel comfortable with this.” His mother said quietly, eyeing Bucky suspiciously.

“I literally just pointed out what an unsubstantial meal he’d be. I’d have to be pretty damn desperate to even _consider-_ ”

“You’re not helping.” Steve interrupted. “I’ll be fine, ma. I can take care of myself.”

She narrowed her eyes at Bucky, who just smiled innocently at her and splashed his tail in the water. “Fine.” She muttered, turning to look at him. “But I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to worry.” He insisted, looking back down at Bucky. “My boat’s back by the jetty. You’ll have to meet us over there.”

Nodding, Bucky slipped back under the water and disappeared into the darkness, leaving Steve and his mother to walk back along the docks. She was quiet for a while and Steve nudged her with his elbow, smiling up at her when she sighed.

“I’m gonna be okay, ma.” He reassured her. “I have to do this.”

“I know you do.” She sighed, reaching over to ruffle his hair. “You have your father’s stubbornness.”

“Pretty sure I got it from you, not dad.” Steve smirked.

Bucky was waiting for them when they reached the jetty, swimming circles around the boats that were moored there. He grinned up at them from under the water when he spotted them, coming up to the surface and watching them as they made their way over.

“ _This_ is your boat?” He asked as Steve started climbing into the rowing boat. “It’s tiny.”

Steve ignored him, settling himself down and pushing aside all the bags and fishing equipment he kept in there. His mother crouched down beside him, pressing a kiss to his temple and whispering a soft “Be safe” in his ear before helping push the boat out into the water.  
He rarely used the boat any more, and it took a few minutes to familiarise himself the oars again and figure out how to steer the thing. Bucky seemed to be enjoying the whole thing, floating along on his back and chuckling as he watched him.

“Have you ever been in a boat before?” He teased, swimming up beside him and pointing him in the right direction.

“I have.” Steve grumbled. “It’s just been a while.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at him and sped ahead, darting back and forth as he waited for him to catch up.

“You’re so slooooow.” He called, a few feet ahead of him.

It had been less than five minutes, and already Steve was regretting letting Bucky come with him. It took a lot of self-control not to hit him over the head with one of the oars once he was close enough. Bucky, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself, rolling onto his back and floating along a few feet away from the boat.  
The sun was just starting to rise on the horizon, and the rays of orange light turned Bucky’s scales to gold. He looked almost iridescent as the light hit the droplets of water on his skin. Sighing, Steve tore his gaze away and tried to focus on rowing, driving the oars forward more forcefully as the current started picking up. He’d never sailed out this far before, and although they were still nowhere near the open sea, it was choppier than he was used to. The sharp rocks at the bottom of the cliffs weren’t helping with his nerves, and the closer they got to the cliffs, the slower he rowed.

“Are you okay?” Bucky asked after a while, swimming up beside him and cocking his head.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just.. don’t usually go this close to the cliffs.”

“Oh, I thought you were tired. You’re so tiny-”

“I’m _fine_.” Steve muttered, narrowing his eyes at him.

Bucky didn’t say anything, disappearing under the water and resurfacing on the other side of the boat. He swam in between the boat and the cliffs, helping Steve to keep his distance, and, although he had no intention of informing Bucky, it helped a lot in calming his nerves.  
The sun was already high in the sky when they reached the first cave. Steve had never seen this side of the cliff before, and he was amazed by how big the caves were. The mouth of the first they came to was wider than his house and looked to be at least 20 feet high. The cave was only half visible out of the water, and Steve was able to guide the boat inside without so much as grazing the floor. When he peered over the side of the boat all he could see was murky water, with no sight of the sea bed below them.

“It goes down pretty deep.” Bucky said behind him, as if reading his thoughts.

It was eerily quiet inside. The only sound was the rippling water around them, and the sweeping of Steve’s oars as he steered deeper inside. After a few minutes he drew to a stop, the light too dim for him to see any further ahead of him.

“How much further does it go?” He asked, turning back to Bucky and frowning at him.

“Not far.” Bucky shrugged. “This place is completely flooded, there’s no way your friend’s in here.”

Steve nodded dejectedly, picking up the oars and turning the boat around. They continued out of the cave and further along the cliff edge.  
The sun was beating down above them, and Steve had no idea how long they’d been out on the water, but his arms were screaming at him to stop after rowing for so long. He pushed on a while longer, not wanting to admit to Bucky that he wasn’t strong enough to keep going, but eventually the pain was too much and he stopped.

“Uh.. Buck?” He said quietly, leaning over the edge of the boat and looking down at the mermaid. “How much further is it?”

“Just round here I think.”

Bucky pointed to the edge of the cliff ahead of them, looking over at him with a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?”

“Tired.” Steve mumbled as he slumped against the edge of the boat. “I’ll be okay I just.. need a few minutes.”

“You rest. I’ll take over.”

“Take over wha- hey!”

Steve almost fell into overboard as Bucky shoved the boat forward, pushing it through the water at a much faster pace than he was used to going.

“I don’t need your help!” He yelled at him, grabbing on to the side of the boat to keep himself steady.

Bucky ignored him, although Steve wasn’t even sure if he heard him in the first place with his head under the water, and continued pushing the boat around the cliffs. He slowed down once they reached the next cave, swimming up next to the boat and pulling it along beside him. This cave was half the size of the first, and they were only able to go a short distance inside before the water got too shallow.

“I can smell blood.” Bucky said quietly as Steve stepped out onto the damp rocks. “They must have been here.”

“You think they’re still here?” He asked, squinting into the dark ahead of them.

Just like the first cave, this one was deathly silent. There certainly didn’t seem to be any signs of life. Taking a few tentative steps forward, he held his hands up to his mouth and called Peggy’s name a few times, listening to it echo. The cave fell silent again and he frowned, turning and looking for a flat part of the rock to sit down. His arms still ached from rowing, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it far for a while.

“We’ll probably have to stay here for the rest of the day.” He sighed, watching Bucky swim up to the edge of the rock. “If we rest now we could keep going after sundown.”

“You can’t go out onto the water at night, Steve. That’s when we hunt.”

Bucky said it so calmly that it took Steve a moment to realise what he was talking about. It was easy to forget that Bucky wasn’t like him. He looked so innocent, swaying back and forth in the water and looking up at him with an amused smile on his face, Steve couldn’t imagine him killing anyone.

“Do you.. I mean.. are you.. will you be..” He stammered, struggling to find the right words.

Sniggering, Bucky rolled onto his back and propped himself up against the rock behind him. “I’m not gonna hunt tonight.” He assured him. “This cave is way too exposed for you to be left on your own.”

Steve felt his face heat up and he looked down at his lap. “I don’t need you to protect me.” He mumbled. “I can take care of myself.”

“Yeah, sure looked that way when I found you with Brock.”

“Shut up.” Steve muttered, folding his arms grumpily as Bucky chuckled. “There was nothing I could do. It was like he had control of my mind. I knew you could hypnotise people by singing but, I didn’t realise.. can you do that?”

Bucky shook his head. “He’s hundreds of years old, stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“You can live for that long?”

“Uh huh. You humans age insanely fast.”

Steve paused and looked Bucky up and down, scratching his neck before asking quietly, “How old are _you_?”

“Twenty four.”

“Oh.” He mumbled, unable to mask his visible disappointment.

They both sat in awkward silence for a while, Steve skimming pebbles across the water while Bucky watched and tried to hit them with his tail. The silence was eventually broken when Steve’s stomach let out a loud growling noise, startling Bucky and sending him dashing a few feet across the water.

“The hell was that?” He asked, staring at Steve with wide, confused eyes.

“I’m just hungry.” Steve shrugged. “Should’a packed some food.”

“There’s loads of algae over here.”

“I’m not gonna eat algae. That’s disgusting.” He muttered, grimacing at the thought. “I have my fishing rod with me.”

He scrambled back over to the boat and rummaged around for it, pulling out his tin of bait and setting it up. A few feet away, Bucky scoffed, swimming over and watching as he dangled the line into the water.

“You’re never gonna catch a fish like that.” He told him. “You just gotta grab ‘em.”

“I’ve caught plenty this way.” Steve mumbled, ignoring Bucky’s despairing sigh.

He heard him mutter something under his breath, before disappearing under the water with a splash.  
Steve sat on his own for a while, staring dejectedly at the motionless fishing rod in his hand. He wasn’t sure there were even any fish swimming this far in the cave. Suddenly Bucky resurfaced, swimming back over to him with a huge sea bass caught between his teeth. He dropped the fish onto the rock next to Steve and looked up at him proudly as he swished his tail back and forth over the surface of the water.

“Will that be enough?” He asked as Steve set his fishing rod down. “There’s loads out there.”

Steve stared down at the bass, which was almost the length of his entire arm, and nodded slowly. “This’ll be enough. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Bucky grinned, flicking his tail happily.

Getting the fish was one thing, but Steve had no idea how he was actually going to cook it. He hadn’t brought anything with him to make a fire. He had matches, but they were no good without anything to burn.

“What’s wrong?” Bucky asked as Steve searched through what little he had brought with him.

“I need some wood for a fire. Can’t eat that fish raw.”

“Isn’t this made of wood?”

Steve turned around and saw Bucky examining his fishing rod. He snatched it away from him before Bucky could pick it up, clutching it to his chest and shaking his head.

“I can’t burn this.”

“Why not?”

“Because..” He trailed off, trying to think of a good reason. It was the only wood he had, besides the boat itself, and there was no way he could set that on fire.

Sighing, he snapped the rod over his knee, cringing at the sound of the wood splintering. It took a few minutes for him to break it into small enough pieces, stacking them in a pile and setting them alight. He kept one piece of splintered wood aside to skewer the fish on, holding it over the fire and watching it patiently.  
Beside him, Bucky was staring at the fire curiously, flinching every time the wood crackled.

“What did you do to it?” He asked quietly, leaning in and staring into the flames.

“I told you I had to make a fire.”

“It’s pretty.”

“It’s just.. you’ve never seen a fire before?”

Bucky shook his head, reaching towards it and yelping when his fingers touched the flame.

“You can’t touch it.” Steve told him, chuckling at the dirty look Bucky shot him as he sucked on his fingers.

The siren continued grumbling to himself while Steve finished cooking, but out of the corner of his eye he could see Bucky still staring at the fire in wonder.  
By the time the bass was cooked the sun had gone completely, and Steve could see the moon reflecting on the water just outside the cave. He watched the stars beginning to appear in the sky as he nibbled on the fish, listening to the waves crashing against the cliffs outside. Beside him, Bucky had made himself comfortable, his head nestled on his folded arms while his tail skimmed the surface of the water. The scales on Bucky’s tail went from a deep indigo to silver where his fins caught the light, and Steve watched in fascination as the colours shifted.

“Can I ask you something?” He asked as he tossed the remains of the fish into the water. “Have you always been like this?”

Bucky looked up at him and shook his head. “Nobody’s born like this. It’s more of a curse.” He explained. “If a siren kisses you, you either die, or you become one of them.”

“Do.. do you think Peggy might have-”

“No.” Bucky said, cutting him off before he could finish. “Brock doesn’t turn people. He hates competition.”

“You sure know a lot about this guy.” Steve observed, frowning when Bucky visibly shuddered.

“He’s kinda the reason I’m like this.” He said quietly. “I was five. My parents had a house right by the sea, and I used to go out and play on the beach until it got dark. One night I heard the singing and went out too far, ended up being pulled out by the current until Brock grabbed me. He would’a killed me but, this other siren, Natasha, she pulled me away from him, and by then we were so deep underwater the only way she could keep me alive was to turn me.”

“Jesus.” Steve mumbled under his breath.

“Natasha raised me until I was old enough to hunt on my own, but Brock doesn’t appreciate having his meals stolen. He’s always had a grudge against me.”

“What happened to your parents?”

“I guess they thought I’d drowned.” Bucky sighed, looking down at the rock. “Couldn’t exactly go back to them after that.”

Steve turned around, lying back against the rock and rolling onto his side to face him. They both stared at each other for a few moments, their faces only a few inches apart, before Steve finally whispered, “I’m sorry, Buck.”

“S’okay.” Bucky shrugged. “I was a kid. I barely even remember them.”

Nodding, Steve leant his head on his arm in an effort to get comfortable. “I was six when my dad died. I don’t remember much. Just the stories he told me.”

“What kind of stories?”

“About you, mostly.” He told him, chuckling at the confused look on Bucky’s face. “Not you specifically. Mermaid stories.”  

“Oh.” Bucky mumbled. “You must be pretty disappointed then. The reality isn’t much of a fairy tale.”

“I’m not disappointed.” Steve said, shaking his head. “He always used to come back from his fishing trips and tell me about the mermaids he saw. I know now he was just making up stories for me, most of what he told me is wrong.” He sighed as he looked Bucky up and down. “But he was right about one thing.”

“What?”

“You are beautiful.”

Bucky’s eyes widened, and in the dim light Steve could see the apples of his cheeks turning a faint pink. He couldn’t help but laugh as Bucky wriggled further into the water, trying to hide himself.  

“How did he die?” Bucky asked after a while, frowning when Steve avoided his eyes. “Sorry.. you don’t have to-”

“No, it’s fine.” He said quietly. “He was in a shipwreck. That’s what they told us anyway, but I’m pretty sure it was sirens that got them. All the survivors either disappeared or went crazy.”

He could see Bucky shuffling closer out of the corner of his eye, sighing when he nuzzled the side of his head affectionately.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, rolling onto his back. “We’re not all like that, you know. Not all of us kill just because we can.”

“But you still kill.” Steve mumbled as he looked over at him. “Can’t you just.. not?”

Bucky shook his head. “I tried. Tried eating fish instead, but it’s just not enough.” He sighed, chewing on his lip sadly. “I don’t go to the villages though. Only go for older folk, out on their own. They don’t have much time left anyway so it.. eases my conscience I guess.”

Steve tried to imagine himself in Bucky’s situation, having to kill people just to stay alive. He could see the sadness in his eyes just talking about it, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder gently.

“You should get some sleep.” Bucky said quietly. “I’ll keep watch for you.”

Yawning, Steve nodded and rolled onto his back. It was hard to get comfortable on the hard rock floor, but he was too tired to care, letting his eyes fall shut and listening to the sound of Bucky’s tail moving in the water behind him.  
He stayed awake for a while, thinking about what Bucky had said. Even though he knew Bucky had killed people, and was probably going to kill more, he didn’t feel in the slightest bit of danger lying next to him. In fact, Bucky made him feel strangely safe. Somehow he knew the siren had no intention to hurt him, and it made falling asleep a little easier.

∞

There wasn’t a single bone in Steve’s body that didn’t ache when he woke up, and he decided he definitely wouldn’t be making a habit of sleeping on bare rock. Groaning, he sat up and looked around. Bucky was asleep half submerged in the water next to him, waking up with a start when Steve splashed water on his face. He looked paler than usual, and he seemed a little less energetic, staying leant against the rock as Steve pushed the boat back out into the water.

“You alright?” He asked when Bucky eventually swam up beside him

“Yeah.” Bucky said quietly, avoiding eye contact with him as they left the cave. “I’m fine.”

“That wasn’t very convincing, Buck.”

Bucky ignored him and dove down, swimming along a few feet under the water so Steve couldn’t talk to him. Shrugging, he continued rowing around the edge of the cliffs, continuing to watch Bucky out of the corner of his eye.  
The next two caves they came to were too small for Steve to get the boat into, and so he spent most of the day sitting and waiting for Bucky to explore them.

“This one’s empty too.” The siren told him as he swam out of the second cave. “But they were here recently. There was fresh.. fresh blood on the rocks.”

Steve frowned when he saw Bucky wet his lips as he spoke, slowly putting two and two together before leaning back and letting out a deep breath.

“You’re hungry.” He mumbled, chewing on his lip.

“I’m fine.”

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Uh.. two weeks ago.” Bucky said quietly, looking down at the water and hunching his shoulders. “I usually put it off as long as I can.”

“That doesn’t sound healthy.”

“Better than the alternative.” He muttered as he glanced back up at Steve. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone else.”

“You can’t just starve yourself.” Steve argued. He wasn’t exactly an advocate for murder, but Bucky looked like he was struggling just to keep himself afloat in the water next to him. “You.. you should go.” He sighed. “I’ll meet you at the next cave.”

“What if Brock’s there?”

“You don’t look like you’d be much help against him right now.”

Bucky frowned at him, swimming up to the edge of the boat and looking up at him. “You’ll be careful though?”

“Yeah, I’ll be careful.” He chuckled, reaching out to stroke his cheek but immediately pulling his hand away again when Bucky started sniffing it hungrily. “Okay, you need to go.”

“Right.” Bucky nodded, throwing him an apologetic look before disappearing under the water.

Even though Bucky had barely spoken to him all day, it still felt strangely lonely sailing along without the mermaid swimming next to him, and it felt like hours before he finally found another cave. This one seemed to stretch on endlessly. Once he’d pulled his boat up onto the rocks, he walked further on into the darkness, practically having to feel his way along the rocks. Every noise made him flinch, and he had to constantly reassure himself that even if Brock did find the cave, he wouldn’t be able to get to him from the water. Bucky was such a reassuring presence, and now that he was gone Steve felt incredibly vulnerable. Sighing to himself, he made his way back through the cave, perching himself high up on the rocks a few feet away from the water and staring out at the horizon.  
It was getting dark when he heard a splash in the distance. Cautiously, Steve made his way down towards the water, grabbing his pistol from the boat and pointing it ahead of him. When Bucky’s head popped out of the water he was so startled he almost shot at him, only managing to stop himself at the last minute.

“You’re not gonna shoot me again are you?” He asked as he swam up to the edge of the rock.

“No, I just.. wasn’t sure it was you.” Steve sighed, setting the pistol back down and sitting by the water. The colour had returned to Bucky’s cheeks, but when he looked up his eyes were wide and sad.

“Hey.” He whispered, cupping Bucky’s cheek in his hand. “You okay?”

“Why do you care if I’m okay?” Bucky muttered, chewing on his lip and looking away from him. “I hate it. I just.. he probably had a family, and they’re gonna wonder why he never came home and it’s my fault.”

“It’s not your fault. You had to do it.”

“I’m a monster, Steve.”

Bucky pulled away from him and slipped back under the water, curling up in a tight ball just below the surface. Muffled whimpering noises echoed around the cave and Steve frowned. His heart should ache this much when Bucky had just killed someone, but all he wanted to do was make him feel better.  
Reaching into the water, Steve grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up. Bucky struggled against him for a while before eventually giving up, flopping his head into Steve’s lap with a huff. He refused to look up at him, chewing on his lip and staring out at the water. Steve sighed and stroked Bucky’s cheek, quietly starting to hum a nursery rhyme to him. He could see Bucky visibly relaxing, closing his eyes and breathing deeply.  
After a few minutes Bucky seemed to have picked up the tune, lifting his head slightly and humming along with him. Steve’s breath caught in his throat as he listened to Bucky’s voice filling his ears, falling into a daze and staring down at him. He was so beautiful. It could be just the singing messing with his head, but he was beautiful, and Steve didn’t ever want to stop looking at him. Bucky seemed to notice Steve slowly losing his coherence, falling silent and chewing on his lip.

“Sorry.” He mumbled, looking down and sighing. “I forgot I can’t do that around you. Can’t do anything around you. I’m dangerous, I never should have come here.”

“Well I’m glad you did.” He said softly as he stroked his cheek.

“I’m really questioning your choice of company.” He said softly, nuzzling his leg when Steve started running his fingers through his wet hair. “Next you’re gonna tell me Peggy’s a vampire.”

Steve paused, looking down at him and whispering, “Are those real too?”

“Don’t be stupid.” Bucky giggled, flicking his tail up and splashing water in his face.

“Hey!” He cried, splashing him back and sniggering when Bucky scrunched his face up. “I’ve seen a lot of crazy things these past few days, okay? I don’t know what’s real and what’s fantasy anymore.”

“Well vampires are definitely not real.”

“That’s good to know”. Steve chuckled. “Peggy is definitely human. Although, this one time, she beat up a wolf that got onto her parents’ farm.”

“She _beat up_ a wolf?”

“Yeah. All the guns were inside so she just.. punched it.” He chuckled as he leant back, staring out at the water and sighing. “She’s pretty great.”

“Do you love her?” Bucky asked quietly, looking up at him and cocking his head.

“Of course I do.”

Bucky nodded slowly and Steve frowned, running his thumb along his cheek.

“I don’t mean.. she’s my best friend.” He said, smirking when Bucky perked back up. “I’ve just never been interested in that sort’a thing.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Bucky sighed. “I like being on my own.”

“Do you guys even.. do that sort of thing?”

He wasn’t sure how a siren relationship would work, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of an underwater wedding. Oblivious to Steve’s train of thought, Bucky nodded.

“Yeah. There’s nothing official but it happens. Natasha fell in love with this fisherman, Clint, way before I was born. He decided he wanted to be with her forever, so she kissed him. Now they hunt together, haven’t left each other’s side since then.”

Steve looked down at him, watching his tail move back and forth in the water. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to be like Bucky, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind again, shaking his head and focusing back on the conversation.

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Not a lot” Bucky mumbled. “But it wasn’t the first time. Doubt it’ll be the last. I just can’t imagine every _wanting_ to be like this.”

Steve shrugged, looking out at the rippling water. “Guess you’d have to really be in love.”

“Nobody could ever be that in lo..”

He trailed off, his eyes widening as he jerked upright. “He’s here.” He whispered as he grabbed hold of Steve’s hand. “Brock’s here. He’s outside.”

Steve felt the colour drain from his face as he glanced frantically around the cave for somewhere he could hide.

“You can’t hide from him.” Bucky said quietly. “He’ll already be able to smell us.”

“What do we do?”

Bucky chewed on his lip, looking over his shoulder and letting out a deep breath. “I have an idea. If you get in the water-”

“Buck, the water is the _opposite_ of where I wanna be right now.”

“I know. But we can sense body heat. If you get in we might be able to trick him into thinking I’ve already caught you.”  

Looking down at the dark, gloomy water, Steve shuddered. It was a terrible plan, but he didn’t have a better one, so he reluctantly shrugged out of his dad’s shirt, pulling off his boots and dipping his foot tentatively into the water. Before he could even react to the cold, Bucky had lurched forward, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in.  
The water was like ice and he huddled closer to Bucky instinctively, despite the siren giving off almost no body heat whatsoever. Bucky kept his arms wrapped tightly around him, curling his tail around his legs and holding him close.

“Try and stay still.” He whispered, nuzzling his hair to comfort him.

“It’s f.. freezing.”

“I know, I’m sorry. This was a bad plan.”

Steve shivered and clung on to Bucky’s shoulders. He wasn’t much of a strong swimmer, and after another day of rowing he didn’t have much muscle strength left. Right now Bucky was the main thing keeping him afloat.

“Is.. is he gone?” Steve asked, swallowing hard when Bucky shook his head.

“He hasn’t come any closer. He’s just.. stopped.” Bucky said quietly as he turned back to Steve. His eyes glowed bright in the dark, dancing with all the colours of the ocean. They both stared at each other, their faces a few inches apart. Steve’s heart was hammering in his chest and he was fairly sure he saw Bucky glance down at his lips before finally whispering, “I’m going to bite you.”

“What!?”

“Shush!” He hissed, slapping his hand over Steve’s mouth. “If he smells the blood he’ll think I’ve killed you.”

Steve pried Bucky’s hand off his face and shook his head in disbelief. “ _Or_ he’ll smell the blood and get hungry for his next meal.”

“Stevie,” Bucky whispered as he reached up, brushing the hair out of Steve’s face and looking him in the eye. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Do you really think I’d do this if there was another option?”

Sighing, Steve nodded at him and Bucky squeezed his arm reassuringly.

“This is gonna hurt.”

“No shit.” Steve muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as Bucky dipped his head under the water.

The bite didn’t hurt as much as he’d expected. He was already numb from the cold and barely registered Bucky sinking his teeth into his arm. Despite his lack of reaction, Bucky still rushed back up to comfort him, stroking his hair and whispering apologies into his ear as he nuzzled at his neck.

“Buck.. I’m fine.” He reassured him, tilting Bucky’s chin up and smiling at him.

“I shouldn’t have done that.” Bucky said softly as he looked out towards the opening of the cave. “I think he’s gone.”

“You’re sure?”

Bucky paused for a moment, sniffing at the air and nodding. “Yeah. C’mon.” He insisted, hauling Steve back up on to the rock and quickly draping his dry shirt over his shoulders.

Shivering, Steve wrapped his arms around himself and curled up tightly, trying to regain the feeling in his hands and toes. Behind him he heard a loud crack and almost jumped out of his skin, spinning around and watching as Bucky wrenched the seat out of his boat.

“W.. what did you do that f.. for?” He stammered as Bucky swam back over, snapping the wooden plank into pieces and dumping them in front of him.

“Fire.” Bucky said as he arranged the wood into a pile, looking very pleased with himself. He prodded the pile a few times before huffing and looking over at him. “I don’t know how to make it work.”

“I need the matches.” Steve told him, sighing when Bucky blinked up at him blankly. “They’re in the boat.”

Nodding, Bucky swam back over and began rummaging around the bottom of the boat, holding up several items before finally finding the matches. He handed them to Steve excitedly, resting his chin on his hands and watching as he set the wood alight.  
They both stayed silent for a few minutes while Steve warmed up, watching the flames flickering in the dark. As his body warmed back up, the pain in his arm became more apparent, making him wince as he moved it.

“You should wrap that up.” Bucky said quietly when he saw Steve examining the wound, reaching out to look at it. Before Steve could say anything Bucky had reached up and torn half the sleeve from his shirt, wrapping the fabric tightly around his arm and nuzzling at it affectionately.

“Thanks.” Steve mumbled, rubbing his sore arm and looking out at the water. “You think Brock was going out to hunt again?”

“Most likely.”

“You know.. if we left now, maybe we could find Peggy before he gets back and-”

“No.” Bucky said, cutting him off and shaking his head firmly. “That’s way too dangerous.”

“Buck, the longer we wait the further away he’s gonna take her. If we don’t go now we’ll probably never get to her in time.”

Bucky chewed on his lip, frowning up at him. “This is a terrible idea.”

“So was getting in the water with a serial killer mermaid outside.” Steve shrugged. “It’s my turn to have a stupid plan.”

“Fine.” Bucky muttered, swishing his tail grumpily and folding his arms. “But we gotta hurry. He won’t be out for long.”

Steve nodded, pulling on his boots and shoving his pistol into his belt. It was hard to get comfortable in the boat now that the seat had been ripped out, but he was thankful Bucky had chosen that rather than something more important.  
Outside it was almost pitch black, and Bucky had to help him steer the boat away from the rocks. He would have sailed straight past the opening to the next cave if the siren hadn’t stopped him, leaning over the edge of the boat to whisper, “There’s someone in there. I can smell them.”

Without pausing for thought, Steve held his hands up to his mouth and yelled into the cave.

“Peggy?” He called, ignoring Bucky’s frustrated hiss next to him.

For a moment it was silent, and Steve’s heart was just beginning to sink when a faint voice called his name back.  

“That’s her!” Steve said excitedly, pushing the boat forward as fast as he could. Bucky swam on ahead of him, and after a moment he heard Peggy’s voice again.

“Get out of here, you rotten animal.” She yelled, and when Steve turned the corner he saw her shoving Bucky into the water.

He all but threw himself out of the boat when he saw her, running over and wrapping his arms around her.

“It’s about time you showed up.” She muttered, squeezing him tightly. “If that bloody fish had dragged me through the ocean one more time I swear I’d have ripped his tail off. How did you find me?”

“Bucky helped.” Steve said as he pointed over to him, chuckling when Bucky waved awkwardly.

“You’re joking.”

“He’s nice.”

“You’re something else, Steve.” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I leave you alone for _one day_ and you befriend a mutated fish.”

“That mutated fish is the only reason I didn’t end up trapped here with you.”

“That mutated fish also has feelings.” Bucky muttered as he swam over. “Can you have this conversation later? We need to leave before-”

“Bucky?” A husky voice echoed through the cave and they all froze. Steve immediately recognised the voice as Brock’s and dropped down, grabbing Bucky by the shoulders.  

“Why didn’t you say he was here?” He hissed. “What the hell are we supposed to do?”

“I didn’t.. I can smell both of you and there’s blood and bone everywhere, it’s hard to pick anything up.” Bucky said in a panicked voice. “I’m sorry.”

“Am I interrupting?”

They looked up and saw Brock swimming towards them,  a wide toothy grin spread across his face. Backing away from the water, Steve grabbed Peggy’s arm and watched nervously as Bucky swam over to the other siren, hissing at him and baring his teeth.

“That’s cute.” Brock smirked, tilting his head and looking over at Steve. “You brought me a snack? He’s a little small, but I’ll take him.”

“Don’t touch him.” Bucky warned as he swam closer, holding his arms out to block him.

“Why? He’s just a human. They’re pretty replaceable.”

Bucky snarled and Brock let out a low chuckle, nudging Bucky’s shoulder teasingly. “Aw, you care about the little human.”

“Shut up.”

“That’s sweet. What do you think’s gonna happen if you save him? Think he’s gonna kiss you and live happily ever after?” He cooed, sniggering when Bucky growled. “We’re monsters, Bucky. They don’t care about us.”

“ _You_ are a monster.” Bucky muttered. “I’m not like you.”

Behind them, Steve scanned the ground, picking up one of the nearby rocks and hurling it at Brock’s head. The siren caught it before it could hit him, his smile fading.

“The hell did you do that for?” Peggy whispered next to him as Brock turned to look at them, growling and narrowing his eyes.

“Okay, now he’s pissed me off.” Brock muttered, shoving Bucky aside and swimming towards them.

He only made it a few feet closer before Bucky pounced on him, hissing and biting at him in the water. Steve grabbed another rock from the ground, but the pair were a blur of teeth and claws, and it was impossible to tell who he was aiming at. He stared helplessly at them, his heart pounding on his chest as he tried to figure out who was winning.  
The gunshot next to him echoed around the cave and silence fell. Steve glanced over at Peggy, the pistol in her hand pointed straight down at the water.    

“Where did you get that?”

“It was in your belt.” She said calmly, thrusting it back into his hands and stepping towards the edge of the water. “I don’t know which one I hit.”

They both stared at the ripples, searching for any sign of life. It was an agonising few seconds before a head finally re-emerged, and Bucky smirked up at them.

“Can she do all the shooting from now on?”

Peggy chuckled and Steve breathed a sigh of relief, dropping onto his knees to pull Bucky into a hug. The siren froze for a few seconds in surprise before leaning against him and nuzzling at his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked, squeezing him tightly before pulling away and looking him up and down. “Is he dead?”

“Yeah.” He grinned as he nuzzled Steve’s cheek. “Why’d you throw a rock at him?”  

“I don’t know. He was freaking me out.”

Bucky giggled, shaking his head at him. “You’re an idiot.”

“Can we get out of here? Or are you two just going to gaze into each other’s eyes for the rest of the night?” Peggy asked, nudging Steve with her foot and cocking her eyebrow at him.

Steve nodded, his cheeks burning as he got up and made his way back over to the boat, curling his legs up so Peggy could fit in beside him.    
The boat moved a lot faster with Peggy rowing, and Steve alternated between napping and watching the water as they sailed back around the face of the cliff. The sun was just starting to rise when their village appeared in the distance. Bucky’s scales sparkled in the light beside them and Steve watched as he moved through the water.

“He can’t stay, you know.” Peggy said softly, startling him.

“What?” He asked as he turned towards her, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting upright.

“You’re getting too attached to him, but he’ll have to leave once we get back.”

“He doesn’t have to go right away.”

“Steve,” She sighed, frowning over at him. “He has to go.”

Steve let out a deep breath, leaning against the edge of the boat and looking down at the siren, who remained totally oblivious to their conversation. He rolled onto his back, and Steve’s heart fluttered in his chest when he smiled up at him. He hadn’t thought about saying goodbye to Bucky. But then, he’d never expected to like him this much.  
His mother was already running down the jetty towards them when they got to it, stretching her arms out and pulling Steve up out of the boat when she reached them.

“Oh, my Stevie.” She cried as she kissed all over his face, ignoring Steve’s attempts to push her away. “I’ve been watching through that window for two days straight. Are you alright? Are you hurt? Have you eaten?”

“I’m fine, ma. Get off me.” He chuckled, wriggling out of her arms.

She tutted at him and flung her arms around Peggy instead, chattering away to her while Steve walked back over to the edge of the jetty where Bucky was waiting.

“I should probably go, before she hugs me too.” He chuckled as Steve sat down, tilting his head and smiling up at him. “I’m not used to this much attention.”

“Can’t you stay for a while?” Steve asked hopefully.

He already knew Bucky’s answer, but he couldn’t help the heavy feeling in his heart when he shook his head.

“You know I can’t.” He said sadly, swimming up to the edge and resting his elbows on the wood. “I’m gonna miss you.”

Bucky reached up to stroke his cheek and Steve sighed, leaning into his hand and squeezing his eyes shut. “Gonna miss you too.”

He leant down, wrapping his arms around Bucky’s shoulders and pulling him close, desperate to hold on to him for as long as possible. Their foreheads were pressed together, and Steve couldn’t help but glance down at his lips, his heart hammering in his chest as he tried to lean in closer.  
Bucky pulled away before he could do anything, tilting Steve’s head and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I won’t forget about you, Stevie.” He whispered, smiling up at him before slipping back under the water.

Steve watched the glimmer of his scales in the water for a moment, a thousand thoughts running through his head. He didn’t want him to leave, but there was no way Bucky could stay with him. Unless..

“Bucky!” He yelled, jumping up and diving into the water without a second thought.

He could hear Peggy and his mother yelling at him from the jetty but he ignored them, swimming as fast as he could to catch up to him. Bucky swam back over, meeting him halfway and frowning at him as Steve caught his breath.

“The hell are you doing?”

“Staying with you.” Steve whispered, grabbing his shoulders and crashing their lips together.

Bucky went rigid against him, pushing his face away and staring at him with wide, horrified eyes.  

“Steve..” He breathed, cupping Steve’s face in his hands and shaking his head sadly. “What have you done?”

“I love you.”

“You’ve known me four days!” Bucky yelled, throwing his arms up in the air. “You just gave up your whole life for someone you’ve had three full conversations with. What the hell were you thinking?”

They both stared at each other and Steve chewed on his lip awkwardly, glancing down at himself. “So uh.. how long is this supposed to take?”

“I don’t know.” Bucky mumbled, his brow furrowing in confusion. “It shouldn’t take this long. Maybe it didn’t- ah!”

Bucky fell forward, grabbing on to Steve’s shoulders and shaking violently as he clung to him. In a panic, Steve held on to him, trying to steady him as he twitched in his arms.

“Buck? What’s happening?” He asked, holding him upright as Bucky got his breath back.

“The hell was that?”

Steve shook his head blankly, opening his mouth to speak but pausing when he felt something brush against his foot. He looked down at the water and froze, tightening his grip on Bucky’s arms.

“Uh.. Buck. You have feet.” He said quietly as he stared down at the pale legs kicking in the water next to him.

“Wha- Jesus Christ!” Bucky yelled when he looked down, lurching backwards and almost sinking under the water. “What.. how.. that doesn’t.. that’s not how it works.” He stammered. “If a siren kisses you, _you’re_ the one that changes.”

“A siren didn’t kiss me.” Steve smirked, pulling him closer and bumping their noses together. “I kissed you.”

“That’s stupid. It doesn’t work like that.”

“Tell that to your legs.” He chuckled. “You don’t have to leave now.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at him, reaching out and splashing water in his face. “That’s for being an idiot.” He muttered, splashing him again. “And that’s for trying to give up your whole life for someone you just met.”

Steve opened his mouth to protest but Bucky cut him off, grabbing his face and pressing a long, slow kiss to his lips. “That’s for somehow fixing everything, and for saying you love me even though you don’t.”

“I do.”

“You don’t.” Bucky giggled. “You have no idea what love is.”

“Well I really like you, and I want you to stay here.”

“Don’t have much choice now, do I?” He smirked, nuzzling at his nose. “Where am I supposed to stay?”

“You can stay at our house.”

“Don’t think your ma’s gonna like that much.”

Steve chuckled, squeezing his shoulder. “She’ll learn to live with it.” He insisted as he took his hand, pulling him back through the water. “C’mon. I’m taking you home.”

**Author's Note:**

> I know that was cliched and dumb af but I don't care mermaids are cool let me live my life


End file.
